In 1989, seven of the 17 tornadoes appeared on one day – Nov. 16 – during a midday squall line of thunderstorms, according Robinson. That’s not unlike what arrived close to midnight on Oct. 31 into Nov. 1 this year.

“One wonders if more tornadoes might have occurred last week had the front come through during the middle of the day,” Robinson said. “The 1989 episode represented a major shift in the atmospheric pattern across the U.S., much like during last week’s squall line.”

“Fortunately, all of the tornadoes in New Jersey this year have been on the weak side, ranking as either EF0 or EF1 on the Enhanced Fujita scale,” Robinson said. “This does not mean that there haven’t been numerous trees and power lines downed and some damage to structures. Fortunately, there have only been a few minor injuries and no fatalities from these storms. Dating back to 1951, the only tornado death in New Jersey was in 2003.”

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